Although it would mean cutting my time in Budapest short, I thought it would be worthwhile to take a day trip to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The journey would take roughly the same amount of time as going directly to Vienna, while giving me a sliver of a new country, city, and culture.

I departed Budapest fairly early to take the train to Bratislava. After the 900-metre walk back to the train station, I purchased my ticket and waited for departure.

My natural inclination was to get a coffee, and with McDonald’s again so near, I bought two cappuccinos. Another advantage of stopping there was that I could email my mom to let her know about my stop in Bratislava, which had not originally been on my itinerary. The train departed, and I patiently waited through the two-hour journey.

Given only a few hours in a city, I tend to maximise what I can see, which means walking quickly and, to quote Boston Legal, allowing no jibber-jabber. Given its prominence over the city and its usefulness as a landmark, I set off for Bratislavský hrad, a recently rebuilt castle atop a hill with evidence of human settlement dating to the Stone Age. The views of Bratislava were lovely, even with overcast skies.

It was interesting to look across the horizon and see communist-era, high-density housing arranged neatly in rows. My tour guide in Budapest had commented on the poor quality of the building materials. I marvelled at how each building had been repainted a new colour, perhaps in an attempt to give it some individuality. The sky turned into a bright blue canvas with only a few scattered clouds.

My walk took me down a different route from the castle and into the historic district, where I photographed anything that looked impressive. My guidebook explained the history and significance of some of the sites, but I knew I was missing some of their context.

I debated whether to visit the first pub in Slovakia or the Dubliner advertising Guinness on the street where I was walking. The Dubliner won; I ordered one Guinness and one Kilkenny to share, although I think I mainly enjoyed the Kilkenny.

I left the pub promptly and made my way back to the train station, picking up a kebab along the way and trying not to get lost. My return was uneventful, despite two strangers nearly coming to blows next to me, and I contacted my friends in Vienna to let them know I was on my way.